Cape Cod August 2019

SarahBeth New England August 2019

Sunday August 4- C and I flew to Boston to take over on the SarahBeth after Floyd and Helga have been on board for a week or so.

After a short (relatively, for C) walk up the Charles River past the Science Museum, we came back to Constitution Marina. We had Anne and Wesley, Will and Jackie, and Daniel and Maria as dinner guests, and Drew cooked up some marvelous kind of flatbread and then a scallop dish for dinner. Will brought a peach pie which we had with Boston Cream pie filling on the side. It was a wonderful evening.

Monday August 5- Bright sun, started in the low 70s, ended in the mid 80s.

We walked over to an early morning Duck tour leaving from the Prudential Center. To get there we went through Beacon Hill, then the Common and the Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue. The tour was 80 minutes long with an hour on land and 20 minutes on the Charles River (named by Charles I when he was a prince). Our Conducktor was Wolfgang Duck, a guy who said he flunked out of culinary school, and our boat was Olga Ironsides.

Among the sites- the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Trinity Church (Tiffany windows but closed on Mondays), the Public Garden including the Duckling statue, the Cheers bar, the State House, Parker house hotel, home of Parker House rolls and the cream pie and where Ho Chi Minh and Malcolm X both worked (need to verify this), the site of the Boston Massacre, the graveyards for John Hancock, John Adams, Crispus Attucks and others. The duck took an old ramp near the skateboard park to enter the water.

Lots more to remember and add. Sam Adams, Beantown Pub.

Then we began walking back with a stop in the Public Library,

 lunch in the Newsfeed Cafe, a short visit to Old South Church from 1669

 (one if by land and two if by sea was at Old North Church, the steeple of which is all we saw, a swan boat ride,

 and then a long, long walk to Maria’s Pastry Shop in Little Italy via the Boston Common, the Irish famine memorial, Faneuil Hall, and Quincy Market.

Outside Faneuil Hall we saw Mayor Kevin White's statue. His claim to fame is that he signed Connie's birth certificate.

 When we got close to the marina we found a street sign detailing the Freedom Trail. We walked most of it and it sure seemed longer than 3 miles.

All in all an eight mile walking day but a really fun one.

Kevin, Cissy and Jackie for dinner- excellent snacks, dinner and dessert including macaroons from Maria’s.

Tuesday August 6- In transit from Boston to Provincetown on Cape Cod. Early morning fog, the cloudy and cool (60s).

We walked about 4 miles in Charlestown around Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill and then back through the Navy Yard, similar to a walk from 2016.

 We then headed for Provincetown with whale watching along the way. Because we were near one of the pro whale watching boats out of Cape Cod we learned that we were seeing Scylla, 38 years old, mother of 13 calves over that time, and her most recent calf.

When we got to P-town, we walked in the very crowded streets and shopped for a while. There was a steady strong wind and some rain.

In the harbor I think I saw a group of white winged scoters. The book says surf scoters are more common.

For dinner we had calamari caught right off the boat during the afternoon.

Wednesday August 7- It was clear, warm and humid when we got up. C and I went for a long walk away from town but we were going so early there wasn’t anyone up anyway. We walked out on the stone breakwater toward the barb of the Cape Cod hook. On the way back, when we were in town, we met a guy who worked for the the CC Mosquito Control service. He was going by all the drain covers and putting a packet of cornmeal with bacteria in it to kill the mosquito larvae and then squirting a bit of mineral oil in them to kill the pupae. He said he does this three times a season and was doing it now to get ready for Carnival in a couple of weeks.

Dennis did not want to get to Plymouth too early so we went whale watching again. This time we found a bull, mom, and calf HB and then another HB. One had an almost solid black tail fin underneath and the other had two white patches so we know they were different. Also saw a sunfish and possibly a fin whale (more of a dorsal fin than a hump).

When we came into Plymouth it was hot but we went for a walk to see the town and the Rock. The Park Service ranger did not tell much about the Pilgrims but more about the symbolism of the Rock. 

The Rock by the way is basically a glacial erratic dropped out as the glaciers receded 10,000 years ago. The Native Americans used it as a landmark since it was so rare. The real size when the Pilgrims landed was about 30 feet across. 1774 the Sons of Liberty from Boston came down and dug it out to move it. It broke while they were doing so. That to them symbolized the virtue in breaking away from England. During the 1800s a working dock sprang up around the Rock and there was actually a chisel and hammer on site for tourists to chip away a piece. Now the Rock has been moved back from the water’s edge and has an odd Greek revival temple like thing built around it. The base is under the little 6 foot piece visible.

So the symbolism and message- for Native Americans, the beginning of the end via European disease and outright conquest; for the Pilgrims the beginning of the theocracy they were denied in England; for the sons of Liberty, freedom from the Brits.

The Pilgrims by the way had already landed on Cape Cod. When they reached Plymouth, they decided that it was the site because of the rock, a landmark visible from the water and because there is Town Brook about 100 yards away that provided fresh water.

Thursday August 8- C and I went for a delightful 4 mile walk this morning. The first part followed Town Brook in a park like setting until we reached an are where they are renovating the stream and the walk. We passed a reproduction grist mill with a fish ladder for the herring to use to spawn. The brook falls 80 feet in about a mile and a half and comes out of a huge lake known as Billington Sea. We got to the beginning of the lake thru Morton Park where one can swim, kayak, and paddle board. Coming back we walked along a busy street but it was still a great walk. Oh yes and to tie all the Pilgrim stuff together we saw 5 wild turkeys!!

The ride through Mass. Bay, the Cape Cod Canal, Buzzard’s Bay, and over to Falmouth was smooth and pleasant. The weather this week has been perfect- cooler than Va. and a steady but not too strong wind.

On arrival at Falmouth, where we are at the ocean end of the harbor, with a view of Martha’s Vineyard 7 miles away, right where a lot of people come to park and dip their toes in the water, and where we have a great view of the steady stream of boats from ferry size to pram sailing school size going in and out.

Connie and I went for a walk toward town and found a small Farmer’s Market. Drew got some fresh rockfish and fresh lobster for us.

Friday August 9- Today’s morning walk took us up along the ocean on Grand Ave. After we crossed the outlet for two salt ponds we came back a bit and found a rocky path along the western side of the larger of the two. It led into town near the bowling alley and Walmart and then back along the Falmouth Harbor Road we took yesterday. The houses here all seem to be grey shingles, with neat yards, beautiful gardens (hydrangeas do really well here), and all are tidy. Some have screen porches big enough for sleeping in the summer.

The event of the day was a tour over at Woods Hole, about 6 miles away. While waiting in the shade beside Eel Pond we talked to some local kids eating pizza. The area triples in population for 4 months a year. It doesn’t snow much but is pretty miserable in winter.

WHOI has about 1000 students pursuing Masters level and PhD level classes and research. The oceanography side is affiliated with MIT and the biological side is affiliated with Univ. of Chicago. We saw the outside of the Marine Biological Lab, the Bigelow building and a couple of others (they have ivy growing on them and look like Harvard or someplace similar). Then our guide Tom took us to the dock where we saw an old Alvin capsule, a Remus (no photos- the Russians want to know what we are doing with them, which is a remote controlled torpedo looking thing WHOI uses to track seals, turtles, and sharks among other things), and another more complicated unmanned sub used to chart the ocean floor. One of the researchers spent a minute telling us about it. We then crossed the tiny drawbridge in town and went to the WHOI Discovery Center to see some exhibits and the gift shop. There was a looping video showing a great white shark chewing on a Remus and then the Remus itself.

All in all it was a good tour but very superficial. I think Dad could schedule a more in depth tour through his friends at VIMS.

After the tour we walked around town a little and rode with a Lyft driver named Santa back to the boat. On the way when we were going thru a forested area with a lower density of houses I saw two more wild turkeys in a driveway.

For dinner we had a seafood medley- lobster bisque (I’ll never have it at Brio again) and softshell crab with chorizo sausage. Today, with lobster salad for lunch and a little ice cream for dessert, has to have been my highest cholesterol intake day of my life.

Saturday August 10- On to Martha’s Vineyard

This morning’s walk took us to Main Street Falmouth and back. We found a statue to honor Katherine Lee Bates of Falmouth, not the movie actress but the author of America The Beautiful.

After breakfast the SarahBeth went across to Vineyard Haven. In the narrow Falmouth Harbor we were docked bow up harbor. Dennis had about 10 feet to spare on either end as he eased the boat off the dock, maneuvered it across the opening and then straightened it out. A couple of the boat owners on either side looked a little nervous.

In MV we mostly lounged on the boat. I was pushing to finish my book and then got immediately into a new one. We did a short walk around town to see Vineyard Vines and the Black Dog. Toddy and some friends visited us on the boat for a while.

Sunday August 11- on to Nantucket for 90 minutes, a short visit with Ellie, and then home.

Oops- I forgot to include photos of a couple of our delicious meals:

Seattle and Back Roads family trip July 2019

Seattle and San Juan Islands multi-adventure with BackRoads July 3-13, 2019

July 3

I discovered it is hard leaving on a trip from someplace not home- worrying about whether all the right things are packed, and then figuring out how to get to the airport and back to the start and then home from there.
We left from the Beach via Lyft with Joseph to the airport. Joseph was so pleasant he made my first Lyft ride a winner.
The Seattle airport was crowded with people coming this way for the 4th and leaving too. Once we figured out how to take Uber, all was ok on our way to the Pineapple Hotel Maxwell. This is on Gordon’s recommendation since he stayed here a few months ago.
After getting settled we took a walk with a knitting store in Pike Place being the goal. The hotel is very near the Space Needle, Chihuly garden, Seattle Center and the arts area including the ballet, opera and Rep. The Pike Place was extremely crowded, and a little cheesy. A lot of people were standing at the fish market watching the guys throw big salmon around- must be a Pike Place thing. It seems like the area can’t decide whether it is tattoo parlor and sailor bar oriented or upscale. It seems like a combination Farmers’ Market and flea market. The knitting store was a success and I found a great map store near it. We never found any other stores worth looking into. We had dinner at Steelheads, walked some more and came on back to the hotel. On the way back we passed the very first Starbucks, where people stand in line to get in and I guess say they went there.
One last initial observation from our first day here- Seattle must be where the boxy, what I call hipster, architecture that seems to be creeping into Richmond comes from, both commercially and in homes.
And one more, this is the most diverse city population wise I have ever seen. Lots of varied looks and languages.

July 4

Coffee and a cookie from the hotel bistro this morning at 6:30- $7.98!!!! Yikes. Tomorrow I’ll make my own.

I went thru 3 room keys this morning before figuring out that the battery in the room lock was low.
We walked over to the Space Needle (for future crossword puzzles it was built for the 1962 World’s Fair (as was the Monorail) early in the morning when there wasn’t much of a crowd and got 360 views of Seattle on a somewhat overcast 55 degree day. I really enjoyed the moving floor level. We found our hotel, the ferry, the houseboats area where one of the firefighters on Station 19 lives (on TV anyway), and a few other landmarks. I am shocked that there really isn’t a Seattle Grace Sloan Hospital.

The next amazing stop was the Chihuly Garden and Exhibit which is right at the foot of the needle. Somehow he has gotten something like 360 colors out of glass and made all these shapes that look so organic and extraterrestrial at the same time. I think I took about 30 photos.

We had lunch at the Collections Cafe at Chihuly where each table has an inset of some object Chihuly has collected- for example fishing lures, Mexican hats as ashtrays, and others. The ceiling was a collection of accordions.

At noon we walked over to some green space where Seattle had a naturalization ceremony for 500 new citizens from 80 countries. It was not as moving as Tonya’s. The Philippines was number one with forty some. The count was in the 20s for Ukraine, Russia, and at least one African country. There was also a good sized group of Iranians and Iraqis. There were cheers for the Mexicans and Venezuelans. The speaker recognized the oldest new citizen in the group which was a 79 year old woman from Phillipines. I was amazed to hear that 30 people in the various armed services were getting citizenship with the rest.

We came back to the room for a few minutes just in time to watch the championship round of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest from Coney Island.



We took the Monorail and then Sound Transit (pretty confusing because there were very poor maps to help an out of towner) to Pioneer Square and then walked back, stopping along the way to visit a Swedish trekking clothes store named after the Swedish word for Arctic Fox- Fjallraven and to go the Seattle Art Museum which had a few very strange pieces but some famous ones too. Most interesting were an excellent Farny of some Indians and a whole area where they said 3 “empathics” have settled in. In the empathic area there was a very practical exhibit of Nigerian costumed men and the pot of foolishness where you confess all your dumb moves.

 It was difficult finding someplace for dinner on 3rd Avenue but we found a diner with the motto “We’ve been cheating tourists and drunks since 1929”.
So today’s last observation based on all this walking around for two days and especially for what we saw outside the diner is that Seattle has a big problem with homeless people, with a mix of opioids, alcohol, and schizophrenia in all likelihood at the root.

July 5

Today was the day for Bainbridge Island by ferry. It worked fine until we got there but then Bainbridge was so crowded we couldn’t really explore. We did find Jake’s deli and then went on to Bloedel Reserve, 150 acres of varied plants, ferns, and moss.

 I could not believe the size of the rhododendrons. It was a 2 mile walk but very serene. Then we decided to take the Kingston ferry. We missed the one at 3:10, the 4:00 one was full, and so we had to wait for the 4:40 one. After that it was easy getting back to the hotel but the day was done. Ice cream dinner.

July 6

Meet up with the family day. We went to a small diner about 4 blocks from the hotel for breakfast and then went downtown by Monorail (free because the till wasn’t working) to buy a small extra suitcase which we almost immediately started filling with extras like tea from a store called Steepologie.
We then went back to the Armory for lunch with Jill and family and Leesa and family. Ali had a laughing fit which was pretty loud. A waited 45 minutes for a cheese pizza.
Then it was off to the Museum of Pop Culture which mostly went over my head. Jimmy Hendrix guitar from Woodstock was neat as was the six fingered glove from Princess Bride but the Prince, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and video game exhibits were way beyond me.

 We finished in time to get back to the hotel to meet M&J and then to drive north to Anacortes.
Our hotel, the Majestic, was holding Ramos and Delphia’s wedding. Beth was staying in her van but borrowed our room for a bit. M&J and the two of us went to Frida’s Mexican restaurant for an excellent gourmet Mexican dinner.
Anacortes reminds me of Rapid City SD with broad, quiet streets and cutouts of former citizens. I expect Anacortes’ reason for existence since 1891 has been supporting the ferry to the San Juans. 15000 people in 2010.

Seen on a sign- “wash your hands and say your prayers, germs and Jesus are everywhere”.

July 7-

First thing to do today was to watch the Women’s FIFA World Cup US versus Netherlands. Then we (M&J, B&C) met Mike, one of our three BackRoads guides. He took us to the ferry terminal where we met Beth, Gordon and fam and Graham and fam. It was “hurry up and wait” but we got on the ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Then, on the way to the Roche Harbor Inn where we spend three nights, we took a short hike to English Camp. It was 600 feet up in elevation. There is also an American Camp. These military camps date from the 1850s when the boundary up here wasn’t fixed. A farmer up here nearly started another war between England and the US when he shot a British pig. The two sides squared off, with the US side under the command of Pickett, yes that Pickett, last in his class at West Point. Eventually the boundary was settled but we are so close to Canada that I keep getting messages from Verizon welcoming me to its Canadian phone network.
The hotel is nice with a Wintergreen condo kind of setup. Food was good even tho we were outside on a chilly rainy night.
I did not sleep well last night so I was very happy to go bed early and get a good sleep for Monday.

July 8-

The main activity today was biking on San Juan. We started at South Beach which is a state park dedicated to watching for whales, mostly Orcas, coming thru the Haro Strait. No orcas have been seen in a while although there is still monitoring from an old lighthouse by hydro phone. There was a list in the lighthouse with foreign language names for Killer Whales. The one I noticed was Orca assassina in Italian.

Then the biking began. I love my electro assist bike! The route was pretty hilly but the assist made it tough but not too tough. Total miles for the day for me was about 15, with a break for lunch on a beach with lots of driftwood including a mini Moby Dick. A full bike ride would have been 31 (Gordon and a couple more).
Today was Ali’s birthday which we celebrated at lunch on the beach.

We did see a whale but it was made of driftwood.

 

At South Beach I saw a Hutton’s Vireo and a Red breasted Nuthatch.
Tonight we go into Friday Harbor for dinner. Halibut- frozen, fresh frozen or fresh. 50 servings out of one 40 pound fish according to the chef. Bunny Tracks ice cream afterwards.

July 9

Last night a fox came walking down the lane in front of our house yipping and trying to locate his or her buddy. It was loud enough to wake us up.
This is truly a multi adventure trip. Yesterday was hiking followed by biking; today was sea kayaking followed by biking. C and I had our paddling act together today and did not squabble at all. It was mostly sunny and about 65 but the water temp was 50. There was not a lot of wildlife but we did see belted kingfishers, a cormorant, harbor seals (pretty close), lots of bull kelp and a kelp crab. Everyone including the kids ate some kelp straight from the bulb. The cord of the kelp felt at least as strong as our paddles.

After a good picnic lunch on the lawn, where Theron asked us which superpowers we would like to have, Michael and I did the Pear Point Loop, about 8 miles by bike. This was the best biking so far- fewer cars on the road, and I have a better handle on the best way to use the electro assist.
After the paddling and the biking my right thumb got a pretty persistent twitch that lasted a full day.

July 10

We left San Juan via whale watching trip on the Pelagic. It was unbelievably foggy and the fog horns on the larger ships were a little spooky. The mate Clay tried to listen for whales but to no avail. The captain called or listened to other boats, and the chatter was about whether anyone had made any contact with HBs. I guess the code was so we would not get too excited. We pushed on and right outside Orcas we found some other whale watching boats that had eyes on Heather and Raptor, two local HBs ie humpbacks. They were very accommodating and did two deep dives in front of us and then one came up and breeched.

I added a rhinoceros auklet to the birdlist.
When we got to Orcas we had lunch and then then set off on a hard uphill hike of about 3 or 4 miles depending on how ambitious one was.
I lagged but enjoyed the quiet and the green moss, ferns, lichen, firs, spruce and hemlocks. It resembled the Forest Moon of Endor in the Star Wars movies. I was beat afterwards.

Our hotel on Orcas is the Outlook Inn. The room is much better than the whole house we had at Roche Harbour.
After dinner there was a rainbow, then a double rainbow, and a lot of photos taken of them.

July 11

Today after a good breakfast we ferried over to Lopez Island for a 16 mile bike ride for me. I moved up another level in e bike skills but then had a minor crash to keep me humble.

July 12

I still found bumps and bruises from my “incident”.
We all took a 1.6 mile hike around Crystal Lake which is at the beginning of that grueling uphill hike from a couple of days ago. A little before the end of the hike there was a place to jump in the lake (60 degrees) which about half the group took advantage of.

Then on to the ferry back to Anacortes. On the ride Ashley, Mike and Maggie gave everyone awards for being on the trip. Ali was our ambassador, C got the Orca award since Orcas are matrilineal, and I got the “best dismount” award for my unseen crash.
Once there we all drove separately to Seattle for one last night together. M&J and B&C made a detour from Anacortes to see Deception Sound which was discovered by George Vancouver- he was deceived and thought it led to the ocean but really defined Fidalgo Island. The area acquired later fame in the 1880s because of a guy who would illegally import people from China and land there to discharge them.
At dinner the last two nights the grandkids have led us all in Telephone with very silly messages to pass along.
Beth is staying in the van at the hotel tonight and I just found out there is a rehab center 2 blocks away so I hope she had no visitors.

July 13

After getting M&J to their flight home, C and I had a free day to repack and rest.

July 14

C went back for a solo week at the beach and I went to Billings for fishing.